Gordon Hayward and Tuesday’s Top Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks

The game changes in the daily fantasy basketball scene on Tuesday night, as we drop down from Monday’s loaded 11-game slate to just six games.

It’s not so much that it’s a light slate, as there just aren’t many elite options. This is especially true at FanDuel, where some of the best options take up just one position – center.

Shooting guard and power forward are strong punt spots to consider, as Kristaps Porzingis is far and away the top PF option and you’ll be asked to pay up for the likes of Brad Beal and Dwyane Wade.

On the second night of a back-to-back set for both guys, I think not.

Your only other true elites are John Wall and Jimmy Butler, but it’s not like they’re Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. You can honestly probably get away with a very safe, straight down the middle NBA DFS lineup tonight. At least, it’s certainly something to think about.

The point? Tonight is weird for daily fantasy basketball and we either need to embrace some obvious logic, or accept that tonight is beyond our control. Regardless what ends up being reality, it promises to be a ton of fun – specifically for the GPP scene.

With that, let’s see if we can’t make it any easier by pointing out our favorite plays at each position over at FanDuel:

Point Guard

John Wall – Wizards ($9.5k)

Goran Dragic – Heat ($7k)

Sergio Rodriguez – 76ers ($4.6k)

Andrew Harrison – Grizzlies ($4.3k)

Point guard looks fairly simple, as Wall is the only guy with true monster upside and Dragon feels like the second safest. We’re bypassing the ever volatile Eric Bledsoe here, as he’ll be on the road against the Jazz.

If you want to pay down at one or both spots, look at Rodriguez and Harrison. Both are starting and getting solid run. Jerryd Bayless is also still out, which should be good for Sergio, who has topped 32 fantasy points in two straight.

The top play is Wall, though, even at this steep price.

Shooting Guard

Devin Booker – Suns ($5.9k)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($5.7k)

Rodney Hood – Jazz ($5.5k)

Troy Daniels – Grizzlies ($4.2k)

Shooting guard is a wasteland tonight, as Dwyane Wade and Brad Beal lead the way in price, but don’t feel worthy of our money.

Not only are they both heading into their second game in two nights, but Wade is like a hundred and Beal doesn’t do anything outside of scoring. Seriously, the other day he had 23 actual points and 21 fantasy points. Talk about garbage.

That has us off of them for the most part, and Zach Lavine against the Spurs has it’s own challenges. Evan Fournier has also been tough to trust, we can start and Booker and work our way down.

Devin Booker is quite volatile, but he succeeded in this matchup a few times as a rookie last year and he can score the ball in bunches. This is the cheapest he’s been in a while, so he’s worth a shot.

KCP and Hood are also solid prices and can easily crush these price tags. I’m not enamored with them, as they both can showcase low floors, but either could safely approach 30 fantasy points tonight with ease. The return of Reggie Jackson (ball hog) puts a slight damper on our KCP interest.

The big value play at SG is without a doubt Troy Daniels, who has been a top shelf scorer for a very depleted Memphis offense. He’s poured in 19, 19, 31 and 29 points in his last four games. Zach Randolph could return and mess things up, but at this price he’s worth the risk.

Shooting guard is really bad tonight, so we’re not against simply punting the position. Guys like Gerald Henderson, Rodney McGruder, Wayne Ellington and even (gulp) Nik Stauskas can help you out with that angle.

Small Forward

Jimmy Butler – Bulls ($9.2k)

Gordon Hayward – Jazz ($8.1k)

Otto Porter – Wizards ($6.3k)

Small forward is stacked, so there doesn’t seem to be any reason to pay down here tonight. We’re not mentioning Kawhi Leonard or Melo here, so you can see that this is a good position.

They’re just not among our favorite plays, as both have been performing below salary expectations and will also be on the road. That’s not the case for Hayward, who has been a scoring machine with Derrick Favors and George Hill banged up, and will have a nice home date against a bad Suns defense.

He’s easily the top play across this entire daily fantasy basketball slate, when you look at matchup, price, performance, upside and consistency. He’s the total package.

So is Jimmy Butler, but you just need to pay up to get him. He’s been fantastic all year and while Wade and Rajon Rondo could hold him back a bit, I’m not too worried about him tonight. The Pistons can be very tough at home, but Butler knows Detroit and the Bulls badly need a win. I can see him having a huge game.

Otto Porter is probably the top SF value to consider. Marcus Morris ($5k) is way more volatile, while Porter has a nice matchup at home against the Magic. He hit on 30 fantasy points the last time he faced them and the Wiz have won 13 of the last 14 versus Orlando. Needless to say, he feels like a pretty safe play tonight.

Power Forward

Kristaps Porzingis – Knicks ($7.6k)

Tobias Harris – Pistons ($5.6k)

Markieff Morris – Wizards ($4.7k)

Dario Saric – 76ers ($4.1k)

We don’t need to get too cute here, as Zinger in the most expensive power forward tonight and the top play at the position. He’ll be on the road and Miami can be tough defensively, but he’s been fantastic and the other options aren’t at all enticing.

Harris and Morris are both cheap and can easily crack 30 fantasy points when they’re on, so they’re worthwhile risks if you need to save a little in that second PF slot.

Punting power forward in general might not be a bad idea, though, and starting with Dario Saric might be wise. The Sixers are strapped for healthy bodies right now, as big men Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor are expected to sit this one out.

Saric’s run is a little all over the place, but he can get hot and chase a double-double. Hopefully he plays more than usual tonight and crushes his salary expectations. Teammate Richaun Holmes ($3.5k) also warrants a cursory glance, but if he starts and is matched up with Marc Gasol, he could be a tough sell.

Center

Hassan Whiteside – Heat ($9.1k)

Marcin Gortat – Wizards ($6.4k)

Honestly, they’re all good. Marcin Gortat is probably the best value ($6.4k) but Joel Embiid is out, so this feels like a good spot to spend some cash.

Hassan Whiteside and Karl-Anthony Towns are both over $9k, but Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol and even Nikolc Vucevic are under $8k and all could easily be monsters tonight.

Our favorite pick is Whiteside at home, but you probably can’t go wrong here. Perhaps Marc Gasol is out or limited in the second game of a back-to-back set and that makes it a little easier. And maybe paying up all the way for KAT against the Spurs doesn’t feel completely right (although it could make him rather contrarian).

Hassan makes the most sense, but the best approach could be to either just start with the center you like the most, or build the rest of your team and see which center you’re left with.